Three
by Abandon Structure
Summary: Caroline's in St. Petersburg when she spots an old friend in the square. Sort of.


THREE

"So which one do you think it is?" Tyler asked, nudging Caroline on the shoulder and nodding to the familiar head of brown hair across the way.

"Elena," Caroline replied, bored with the game already. She shot Tyler a disdainful look. "Klaus can't stand Katherine."

"You're no fun," Tyler sighed, scrunching down and turning his gaze skywards. "Snows pretty."

"It's cold," Caroline replied, watching Elena make her way across the square, idly wondering where Damon was. The two rarely went anywhere without each other.

The bells rang, signaling the time, and Caroline felt a vicious spurt of satisfaction as Tyler winced.

"Goddamn bells," he swore, scowling up at them. "Goddamn St. Petersburg – why am I here again?"

"No clue," Caroline replied, leaving the little alcove they'd ducked inside and heading down the street after Elena. "Because the universe exists solely to torment me?"

"Hey – I'm not the one who's main squeeze is an immortal psychopath."

Caroline shot Tyler a warning look and he obediently backed off, hands held up in surrender.

"I'm just saying – Karma."

"If karma really existed an anvil would have dropped on your head a century ago and I wouldn't have to be staring at your face right now," Caroline snapped, her good-humor used up for the decade.

"Harsh," Tyler replied, grinning slightly as he fell in step next to her. She sighed in response, the fight going out of her. Tyler had mellowed a lot over the century and Caroline envied him for it. She felt like she was only getting more neurotic with age.

"Come on," she suggested, signaling the passing her bad humor as she looped her arm through his. "Let's catch up with Elena."

* * *

Caroline lost track of Elena and there were too many smells for Tyler to track her, so Caroline resorted to more tech-savvy solutions.

"Hey, where are you?" She asked as soon as Elena answered her call. "I lost you in the crowd."

"You're in San Pedro?" Elena sounded surprised. "I thought you were in Russia with Klaus. Did you two have another fight?"

"Geez, seriously? What is it today – pick on Caroline day? And what do you mean you're in San Pedro? I just saw you in St. Petersburg Square. How can you already be in California? They haven't perfected teleportation yet, have they? I mean, I've been out of touch for a decade, but I think I would have noticed people popping in and out of existence at random."

"Breath, Caroline," Elena sounded amused now. "And no, nothing to do with teleportation. I've been in California with Damon for the past month."

"Oh." Caroline blinked, startled by the news. "Then it must have been Katherine, which does not make any sense. She's all about self-preservation. Why would she be in the same city as Klaus? She knows he hates her."

"Um, Caroline?" Elena's voice broke through her musings. "Katherine's in Brazil, with Stefan."

"Stefan's hanging around with Katherine? Since when?" Caroline couldn't fathom it – her stoic sire had a love-hate relationship going with his sire, with him being on the hate side of the equation.

"Since Katherine swears she found some sort of cure for the whole vampire allergy to sunlight and Stefan doesn't want her frying random vampires to prove her point," Caroline could practically see Elena rolling her eyes. Katherine had popped up sporadically in the last century, always with some dumb, hair-brained scheme to fuck with the universe.

Caroline had only met her a couple of times since the other vampire killed her, but if favors could be returned, Caroline would have gladly shoved a pillow down Katherine's throat.

"So you're in San Pedro, Katherine's in Brazil, and I'm in Russia with a girl who I could have sworn was you. Great – it's finally happened."

"What? What's happened?" Elena questioned, sounding distracted. Caroline could hear noises in the background and surmised that Damon had arrived.

"He's driven me to madness," Caroline sighed. "Sorry for interrupting your love fest. Call me soon?"

"Yes," Elena sort of hissed the word and Caroline rolled her eyes as she hung up the phone, cursing Damon and his complete lack of shame.

"So, it wasn't Elena or Katherine," Tyler summarized her conversation, a hint of a smile on his face. "Since Katherine's busy causing trouble and Elena's busy doing Damon."

"Stop," Caroline held up a hand pointedly, giving him a baleful look. "I don't want to hear it. Not now, not ever."

"Come on," Tyler teased, following as she turned around, done with the outside world for the day. "I can't be the only one who's walked in on them in a compromising position."

"You're not," Caroline snapped over her shoulder. "Half of the supernatural world has seen one or both of them naked by now. But that doesn't mean I want to talk about it."

"You're such a prude," Klaus came out of nowhere, swooping an arm around her waist, giving her a quick smile of greeting before hardening his expression towards Tyler. "You can go now."

"I don't take orders from you," Tyler replied, one eyebrow arched, hands tucked safely in his pockets.

"Tyler," Caroline sighed his name with tired exasperation. He grinned in response.

"Since you pleaded so nicely," he bowed sarcastically before turning and disappearing in a blur of speed.

"Have a nice chat?" Klaus asked, dropping his gaze to her. Caroline sighed again.

"Don't even start," she grumped, shoving his arm away from her. "I can talk to Tyler as much as I want. He's just a friend."

"Mmmmmm," Klaus made a humming noise under his breath, gaze straying back towards the path Tyler had taken. His thoughtful expression twisted when Caroline punched him in the gut.

"Don't even think about it," she warned as he turned to face her, grimacing at the strength of her blow. "I would not be happy with you if anything happened to him."

"He's tried to kill me three times," Klaus replied, straightening and ignoring the pain. "That's three times more than most people get. If you weren't so serious about protecting him, he'd be dead already. But I have time."

"God, really? Seriously – you need to stop threatening my friends. It makes it very hard to like you."

"Good thing you love me, then, isn't it?" Klaus's little boy grin was infectious and Caroline felt a reluctant smile break out on her face.

"Maybe," she replied, reaching over to slide her hand through his.

"Come on, love," he murmured, pulling her close into his side. "I want to show you the most beautiful view in St. Petersburg."

"This better not be the mirror thing again," Caroline teased, the two of them walking easily together. "Because I swore I'd never fall for that one again."

"If it was a mirror, love, I would have said the most beautiful view in the whole world."

Caroline melted a little inside and Klaus, the arrogant bastard, smiled.

**A/N: **Guess why it's called Three. Go on - guess. ;D


End file.
